Tavira Studio

In Fall 2018, MLA students from LSU journeyed to Portugal for a special topics studio in Tavira, a small farming-fishing town turned tourist destination in the Algarve. The journey focused on honing site observation skills through sketching, understanding cultural layers, and balancing the often divergent interests of tourism development and traditional livelihood industries.

My proposal activates an abandoned space nestled between working orchards, new condos, and the first palliative care clinic in the Algarve region. It attempts to create a restorative public space through ecological restoration, experimental agriculture, resolving spatial conflicts, and adding public amenities. The project will also be connected to other important cultural sites through a heritage trail system that utilizes existing infrastructure.

Algiers Eco-Loop: The Untapped Potential of Traffic Medians

The Urban Systems Studio at LSU had a timely opportunity to collaborate with non-profit organization Parks for All on an initiative to develop a report card to grade parks and open spaces of all sizes, in multiple categories. Such a guide would assist in the shared goal of a beautified and accessible park system. The process included case studies in community engagement, a park blitz, report cards, and developing design proposals for parks needing the most attention.

My proposal focuses on utilizing the 120' wide traffic medians on the West Bank to create a multimodal greenway that connects the existing parks into a 12-mile Eco-Loop. The proposal would put everyone in greater Algiers within 1/4 mile of public open space and transit, restore vital lowland habitat, and address issues of environmental equity facing the district. To see the full project, visit https://nolaparksstudio.org/

Catfish Square: The Re-emergence of the Street Market in Baton Rouge

Catfish Squareis the reimagining of a vacant lot in an area known by Baton Rougeans as Catfish Town. Rooted in the concept of the neighborhood street market, the square will provide for the everyday needs of residents, whether they be social or sustentative. The design incorporates elements of progression (both in pathway hierarchy and the negotiation of the escarpment), varying densities (with a mixture of formal and informal market spaces), and “patterns” of history (paving patterns and architecture reminiscent of old Choctaw trading posts).

Site Inventory and Analysis

Done w/ watercolor and digital overlays

Concept Study Models

Iterations

Precedent Ideas

Looking at elements of other successful street market and park spaces

Process Sketches

Thinking w/ my sketchbook

Site Plan

Site Model

Looking from the east

Site Model

Looking from the south

Site Model

Bird's eye view from the south

Site Model

From the northwest corner of the site

Site Model

View of the marketplace from France Street

Memorial Station Park: A Bold TRANSIT-ion

My design aims to celebrate the transitional state of Memorial Stadium. Through strategic urban forestry practices, intentional aging of existing structures, the use of liminal materials, and the establishment of a central transit hub, Memorial Station Park will be an icon of adaptation and connectivity which provides a more equitable future for the historically underserved neighborhoods of North Baton Rouge.

Connectivity

Potential for multimodal connections

Process

Process

Bristol Board Studies

Desvigne - Greenwich Project

Precedent for urban forestry concepts

Site Plan

Greenway Underpass

Underpass to connect the Downtown Greenway to its terminus in Memorial Station Park

Train Station Approach

Facing Memorial Station from the east

Stadium Ruins Plaza

View of Memorial Stadium from the south

The Canal District: Discussing Naturalization with New Media

Southern University’s School of Agriculture asked LSU’s Water Systems Studio class to address flooding and programmatic issues along a 2.5 mile corridor called the Baker Canal, which runs through their extension research area. In the design proposal, the canal is naturalized using an urban-rural transect as its organizing principle, with corresponding intensities of programming in each character zone. The main focus of the project, however, was the use of drone technology and video animation to encourage our clients to see the site through new eyes. The hope is that the imagery will inspire them to envision a multi-functional future for the canal.

Hydrological Context

historic imagery with overlay of the August 2016 Flood areas

Conceptual Development

developing and annotating a concept design for the civic center

Sections

illustrating the naturalization of the canal according to character zones

Water Studio Video Fall 2017

A digital essay made using drone footage, narration, and animation in Adobe After Effects

Modeling Markov Chains

For a Digital Culture Seminar course (part of the Doctor of Design curriculum), I utilized Python, Rhino, and Grasshopper to explore the possibilities of a completely algorithmic artistic workflow. From creating poetry using markov chains, to recording it, extracting forms from the soundwaves, and parametrically iterating a wall design, the process evoked greater questions of design values, digital vs analog operations, and the implications of the open source movement on art, design, academia, and social relationships.